Table of Contents
Euthanasia
Laws are made to give guidelines as to how and what should be done. Law brings order in the society and conflicts can be addressed by using the law. Without law, there would be violence. Law helps to stop potential threat that can be avoided. Action is taken upon a person who fails to follow the law. This comes in various ways like jail terms, fine, and community services among others. However, some law are unjust and need to be changed for there to be enjoyment of human rights. In the Declaration of independence, ‘all men are created equally’ was one of the bases of the declaration (Trumbull, 2017). The founding fathers acknowledged that human beings are equal in some aspects but they cannot be equal in all aspects. Every life is equal in the virtue of being a human being. It does not matter the race, economic status or gender. Every person has the right to enjoy their rights and these rights should not infringe as another person is enjoy their right.
Euthanasia law allows intentionally ending the life of a person to end their pain and suffering (Mortier, 2015) . It is considered to be legal in some countries. Euthanasia violates the right to life and the right to chose, if it is done without the consent of the patient. Euthanasia can voluntary or non voluntary. Voluntary euthanasia is where a doctor knowingly aids a patient to die with the consent of the patient. The patient is aware of what is happening but is suffering due to pain. Non voluntary euthanasia is where the consent of a patient is not sorted or the patient is unwilling to have euthanasia done to him or her. This is done to children or adults who cannot make decisions for themselves since they are in a vegetative state. The specific circumstances in which non voluntary euthanasia can be done are not specified. Thus involuntary euthanasia can be said to be murder which violates the right to life.
Voluntary euthanasia is legal while non voluntary euthanasia is illegal. Permitting voluntary euthanasia to happen may result to legalization of non voluntary euthanasia even though is not ethical. This can be justified especially in cases of children. Euthanasia helps to end the suffering of patients who have pain and if the patient has no hope of being cured, it can be done. However euthanasia can be used for the wrong reasons and this is why this law should be changed. Euthanasia can help a person who is depressed due to the sickness to overcome the problem by opting for euthanasia. This can happen when the patient refuses to eat and makes the doctors to believe there is need to have euthanasia as the patient may seem to be suffering.
Due to wealth, a position or unwillingness of people to take care of a sick person, sick people may fall prey to being murdered with the help of euthanasia. When a person dies their wealth is inherited and if a person will gain from the death of the ill person, murder will have been committed in the pretence of doing euthanasia. This is violating the right to life for the sick person. Euthanasia can also be used by doctors to hide mistakes that they may have done during the treatment of a person. For example in the case a surgeon leaves a surgical tool in the body of a patient this will cause the patient to suffer. It may seem necessary to do euthanasia due to the suffering of the patient while in the real sense it is the mistake of the surgeon that is making the patient to suffer. Performing euthanasia will therefore be away for medical practitioners to hide their mistakes.
Some people have suicidal tendencies. In the case that they get ill and it can be proven legally that the person is suffering, that can be used to end the life of the patient. Due to the suicidal nature of the patient who is willing to commit suicide, it can be seen to be assisted suicide which is illegal. Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath which makes them obligated to preserve life wherever possible. Even though performing euthanasia is done when it is deemed necessary, it is goes against the oath that they take especially if it is done with malicious intent by family or by a medical practitioner to hide their mistake. In that case it means that the doctor does not value the life of his patients and that can be very dangerous. The ethics of doctors is even put into question especially if they see euthanasia is the easier way out for the patient.
Morally it is not right to end the life of person. By performing euthanasia it pegs a question on whether it is morally right to end the life of a person in the justification of relieving suffering and pain. It is therefore morally wrong to end the life of a person to relieve suffering. The doctrine of good effect does not apply in this case. It can be justified that doing something bad that brings good results is morally okay. In the case where a doctor gives extra painkillers to stop the pain of a patient and by doing so the patient’s life is at risk, can be justified as a bad action with the intent to doing good. This is the same case with euthanasia, killing a person to relieve them of their pain. Religiously, life is scared and only God has the power to decide when a person should die. Thus life should be respected and preserved. Euthanasia is seen to be murder and thus it goes against the Ten Commandments.
Legalizing euthanasia puts pressure on patients who are sick to end their life so as to relieve their families of the financial and emotional burden. This makes the patients to feel morally obligated to have euthanasia. If euthanasia was not legal this would not have been the case.
Conclusion
Euthanasia is can be used for the wrong reasons by families or doctors to get wealth or avoid problems due to mistakes done. Patients may also be pressured so as to relive their families of the burden of taking care of the as well as the financial burden. It is morally wrong to take the life of a person even when it is said to be applying the doctrine of good effect. Religiously it is also against the Ten Commandment to murder a person. Euthanasia should therefore be stop and it should not be legalized for it can be used for the wrong purpose and it is against God’s Commandments to take life. Euthanasia violates to right to life.
- Mortier, Tom, et al. “Between palliative care and euthanasia.” Journal of bioethical injury 12.2(2015):177-178.
- Trumbull, John. Declaration of Independence. Public Voices 14.1(2017): 1.